428 The " Oriental Sore '" as observed in India. [part ii. 



convoluted portion of sweat glands surrounded by aggregations of lymphoid cells ; in 

 other cases no trace of a sweat gland is to be observed, but an oval or circular colony 

 of cells, surrounded by a scarcely perceptible membranous envelope, and showing towards 

 its centre the cut orifice of a blood-vessel, are all that can be distinguished. 



There remains one other feature in connection with this cell-growth which deserves 

 special mention ; and that is the fact that the reticulated tissue in which the fat cells 



are embedded is frequently thickly studded with these lymphoid cells (Fig. "22^ s) a 



fact, however, which generally requires the use of re-agents, such as iodine, picro- 

 carmine, or aniline, for its elucidation. 



Having thus briefly described the general features of this cell-growth as seen in 

 vertical and transverse sections of extirpated sores, it will be necessary to describe the 

 arrangement which the cells assume with regard to each other. 



It should be premised that the cells as well as the substance in which they are 

 embedded assume very different appearances according to the particular method adopted 

 for their preservation and the different staining processes resorted to. The description 

 which follows will refer to preparations which have been preserved in spirit, in a weak 

 solution of chromic acid, and in a mixture of the two.* With regard to the size of 

 the corpuscles when measured after preservation in spirit, it may be stated that the 

 average of ten measurements of cells taken indiscriminately was ^jg^j^jy" (=^"0048 mm.), 

 — the extremes being ^/ee" (=-0036 mm.) and -owss" (=*0072 mm.). 



In order to study the minute structure and relations of these corpuscular elements, 

 it is essential that the sections should be made as thin as possible. Our sections were 

 for the most part made from hardened preparations which had been embedded in paraffine 

 and sliced by means of a broad and very sharp razor. The margins of almost any such 

 preparation obtained in this manner will suffice to demonstrate the appearance presented 

 in the accompanying woodcut (vide Fig. 23). The cells are observed to be of various 

 shapes and sizes ; some are spindle-shaped, with a well-marked oval nucleus, others 

 appear to be intermediate between spindle cells and epithelial cells on the one hand, 

 and lymphoid cells on the other, but the bulk of the cells consists of the granular 

 lymphoid kind. As, however, the relation of these varied cells to each other constitutes 

 one of the leading questions under discussion in modern biological research, it would 

 be presumptuous to attempt to offer any opinion on the matter at present, especially 

 in connection with a subject which has not been investigated for the purpose of 

 attempting to solve so difficult a problem. It is sufficient for our purpose to know— 



1. That the morbid growth consists of granular lymphoid cells measuring from 

 tttW (^"006 mm.) to g^Vir (='008 mm.) of an inch in diameter, in which, without the 

 addition of acetic acid, one or more nuclei may generally be detected. 



* It may be mentioned in connection with the preservation of specimens, that tissues which have been 

 preserved in solutions of chromate of potash or chromic acid are very apt to become the sites of growth of 

 fungi. One of the specimens of healthy skin which we preserved in chromic acid during our stay at Delhi 

 was a few weeks subsequently found to be covered with a thick layer of mould as well as the fluid itself, 

 which, having partially evaporated, had allowed the fragment of skin to project somewhat beyond the surface. 



